Naruto Shippuden: One Week Break

If you are anxiously waiting for the next Naruto Shippuden episode to come out tomorrow, you might be disappointed to hear that it won't be happening. The next air date for the Anime is scheduled for September 30, 2010. Naruto Shippuden episode 179 is titled as follows:

"Kakashi Hatake, The Jonin in Charge"
"Tantō Jōnin Hatake Kakashi" (担当上忍はたけカカシ)

 It was unfortunate for us to look forward to even more fillers, but in actuality the Animation team decided to take a one-week break and put oil in the fire. So, how many episodes of filler are left? This is currently unconfirmed. Some fans believe that canon material will continue starting from episode 180, which is titled as the following:

"Inari's Tested Courage"
"Inari, Tamesareru Yūki" (イナリ、試される勇気)

Since Inari is a character that is tied to canon material in the Manga, fans seem to believe this may not be a filler after all. All will be explained next week. Stay tuned.

The Latest On Upcoming Bleach Filler

You may have heard of Bleach fans talking about how disappointing it is that another Bleach filler will air starting from episode 287. There is good news and bad news. The bad news is, of course, the fact that Bleach episode 287 will be a filler. The title reads the following:

"Side Story! Ichigo and the Magic Lamp" "Gaiden! Ichigo to mahou no ranpu" (外伝！一護と魔法のランプ)

As for the good news, the filler will be a single episode (hence the word "Gaiden" from the title). We won't have to worry about any arcs or series of filler episodes anymore (not anytime soon, at least). The short filler, if anything, should be interesting. Will Ichigo take the role of Aladdin? I guess only time will tell.

How do we know it will be a single episode filler? Bleach list of episodes have been updated and suggest two episodes that will air after the filler:

Episode 288: "The Final Trump Card! Ichigo, Towards the Decisive Battle" "Saigo no kirifuda! Ichigo, kessen e" (最後の切り札！一護、決戦へ)

Episode 289: "Byakuya vs. Kenpachi?! The Melee Commences" "Byakuya VS Kenpachi?! Ransen kaishi" (白哉ＶＳ剣八？！乱戦開始)

Bleach Anime's pacing is coming along really well. The much-anticipated fight with Yammy V.S. Byakuya & Kenpachi is coming soon. In fact, both captains are shown in next episode's preview. Unohana and Kurotsuchi will be getting their share of airtime as well.

Naruto Shippuden Returns to Canon [Original Plot]

The last seven episodes in Naruto Shippuden, which were fillers, are finally over! Why do I say finally? Well, for starters, seven episodes may not sound like a lot. Time-wise, however, that's about a 3-month period! But this filler is actually considered short compared to previous fillers we've had, especially in the Naruto series. There was no episode released this week, as there will be a Naruto Shippuden special next Thursday. We'll get to see Naruto's reaction to Jiraiya's death, as well as him initializing his training for Sage Mode.

As surprising as it is, it turns out that Utakata never really appears in the Manga or Canon. Even though he is the 6-tailed beast, he merely fulfills a role in a filler. That explains why he was killed off so easily by Pein.

Stay tuned and look out for Naruto Shippuden episode 152 next Thursday, which will be a 2-episodes special!

Beast Swords Arc To Follow Zanpakuto Filler

A new filler will rise as soon as the current one comes to an end, which is to be marked after episode 255. The majority of Bleach fans aren't showing too much excitement towards this filler, as the average person's crave for the Zanpakuto filler started going down after it got halfway through. Only two more episodes remain, which is the good part. The bad part is that until April the 13th, the Anime will not revert back to Canon. But compared to other fillers, like the Bount arc, this is a small price to pay.

So, what about this new Beast swords filler arc? According to a few sources, the Beast swords are supposed to be rivals to the Zanpakuto. It sounds pretty interesting, however, I just hope it's not something similar to Season 9: The New Captain Shusuke Amagai. This was the filler that had those weapons that consume the user's life for power, which is kind of overrated now. The only way a filler is interesting is when you have lots of fights and new character coverage. Anyway, we'll see what this is all about when the new arc starts on February 2.

Zanpakutō Unknown Tales Arc Ends With Episode 255

It looks like the Zanpakuto Arc is coming to an end soon, with a total of 4 remaining episodes. As far as predictions go from fans when the filler started, it turns out that nobody was right! First of all, Muramasa was not Kenpachi's Zanpakuto. Then, we find that the arc consists of 25 episodes. Fans who were saying this filler was going to last a year have been proved wrong. As expected of Tite Kubo, this is what he does to his concerned and anxious Bleach fans every time.

So importantly, what's happening in Bleach after the arc? You're totally wrong if you think the episodes will direct back to the Arrancar arc. It seems there will be yet another filler arc before we see Ichigo going up against Ulquiorra and the Gotei squads' fight back in Karakura town. If you've been reading the Manga, then of course you aren't missing any of the action Anime fans have been waiting for.